Rickey Henderson vs Willie Stargell: Career Stats Comparison
Rickey Henderson (1979–2003) and Willie Stargell (1962–1982) — they broke in during the 1970s and the 1960s respectively, which makes the side-by-side worth doing carefully. Rickey Henderson finished with 3,055 hits and 297 home runs; Willie Stargell finished with 2,232 hits and 475 home runs. Below is the full career table, PIV adjustment, peak seasons, and a verdict.
Rickey Henderson
Willie Stargell
Career Stats Side-by-Side
Every cell below is a career total or career rate for Rickey Henderson and Willie Stargell. Cells highlighted in green mark the category leader. Counting stats reward longevity; the rate stats at the bottom are era-agnostic.
| Statistic | Rickey Henderson | Willie Stargell |
|---|---|---|
| Games | 3,081 | 2,360 |
| At-Bats | 10,961 | 7,927 |
| Runs | 2,295 | 1,194 |
| Hits | 3,055 | 2,232 |
| Doubles | 510 | 423 |
| Triples | 66 | 55 |
| Home Runs | 297 | 475 |
| RBI | 1,115 | 1,540 |
| Walks | 2,190 | 937 |
| Strikeouts | 1,694 | 1,936 |
| Stolen Bases | 1,406 | 17 |
| Batting Avg | .279 | .282 |
| On-Base % | .401 | .360 |
| Slugging % | .419 | .529 |
| OPS | .820 | .889 |
PIV Comparison
By PIV (Player Impact Value), Willie Stargell leads Rickey Henderson 42,804 to 37,642 — a gap driven primarily by per-season impact (2,038 vs 1,298 per year). PIV adjusts each season to league baselines, so it's the cleanest way to compare careers across eras.
Peak Seasons
The best single seasons each player produced, ranked by OPS among qualified workloads (300+ at-bats).
Rickey Henderson — top 3 seasons by OPS
Willie Stargell — top 3 seasons by OPS
Verdict
On the head-to-head card, Willie Stargell leads in home runs, RBI, batting average, and OPS, while Rickey Henderson owns hits, runs, and stolen bases. That doesn't settle the era debate, but on the raw scoreboard the edge goes to Willie Stargell. PIV agrees: Willie Stargell grades out higher across their careers. Click through to each profile for the full season-by-season breakdown.